NFL pulls replacement official/Saints fan from Saints-Panthers game

Posted by Mike Florio on September 16, 2012, 10:17 AM EDT

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A replacement official has been replaced.

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that the NFL has pulled side judge Brian Stropolo from the Saints-Panthers game, because he is a rabid Saints fan. (The guy in the picture isn’t Stropolo. At least, we think it’s not Stropolo.)

The evidence was pieced together from Stropolo’s Facebook page, which show him in Saints gear and also standing outside the Superdome for a preseason game.

It could be an isolated incident, or it could be the tip of the iceberg. The replacement officials have never worked at the NFL level, and they surely have teams they “like” and teams they don’t.

The locked-out officials surely have (or at least had) their preferences and biases, too. But once you choose to make officiating a career (or at least a second career), it’s time to be impartial.

The fact that Stropolo slipped through the cracks demonstrates the speed with which the league slapped together the replacement crews. So whether it’s Stropolo being a Saints fans or Shannon Eastin being a professional poker player or — far more importantly — a possible Tim Donaghy who is trying to parlay a short-term NFL gig into a major score, the NFL doesn’t know as much about the replacements as it does about the regular officials, and it’s important for the NFL to continue to turn over stones as the lockout of the regular officials proceeds.

I think the NFL did right in removing him from the game, however i’d assume mostly all refs, replacement and “real” have favorite teams…….i dont think they necessarly call games in favor for their teams but if they grew up fans of the NFL, they most likely grew up fans of certain team(s).

If u love football enough to take on officiating then chances r u have a favorite team..why this comes as a surprise to anybody is anyone’s guess.

dabears2485 says:Sep 16, 2012 10:27 AM

This is a non-issue. Everyone is a fan of a team, whether they are locked-out officials, replacement officials, or players on the roster. Some guys grew up in Chicago loving the Bears, and then end up playing for the Packers. These things happen. Do we pull them?

I understand pulling the guy from the game to avoid the controversy, but I can’t blame the guy for having a favorite team. Everyone has a favorite team, and all you can do is throw them in there and trust that they’ll be impartial – just like the locked-out refs.

This is a non issue. They figured out he was a saints fan an now he will be working afc game. It wasn’t a matter f him making bad calls but that he may in favor of the saints and they addressed the issue. And it can’t e any worse then last year when the regular refs did everything in their power to try to dictate the NFC playoffs until they were caught in the giants packers game

pantherlouie says:Sep 16, 2012 10:33 AM

Good. That’s all the Panthers needed was a Saints fan, posing as an official. “I didn’t see a late hit”

lonespeed says:Sep 16, 2012 10:34 AM

We talk as if the old referees were robots and the new referees are human. Both will have human tendencies.

I’m sure the older referees had their favorites and the new referees will have there biases as well. I doubt the old referees had any advantage over the new referees in controlling those biases.

The new referees had no previous expectation of becoming NFL officials and therefore may not have been selective in exposing their team favorites through things like social media. The older referees had the benefit of growing along with social media. They were trained not to expose their biases which I’m sure they have.

cmdrsmooth says:Sep 16, 2012 10:34 AM

If NFL didn’t ask to disclose those fact, it isn’t his fault. But it is dumb of him not to disclose it to the NFL in the first place, for his own sake. If a team were to lose to the Saints on a judgement call, the NFL scandal would overwhelm his life for the worst. Gamblers would be threatening his life..etc…sounds like a great movie plot. Hollywood, you listening?

So Jarred Allen’s comments the other day that replacement officials cost him a sack because they didn’t “know him” like the regular officials, ie wouldn’t give him preferential treatment like the regular officials would, doesn’t show plenty of bias in the regular officials ?

A bunch of BS to highlight this. Larry Nemmers was a rabid Chiefs fan and no one thought to take him out of their games.

gbditka says:Sep 16, 2012 10:57 AM

If Roger Goodell was truly concerned about the “integrity of the National Football League,” getting the expereinced & most qualified Refs back on the field would be a daily priority till resolved. Just another instance where the Commish is talking out both sides of his mouth….is it about the almighty dollar or integrity of the game???

twisteditoff says:Sep 16, 2012 11:02 AM

loseraniaians show up once again gettign a lil sick of the garbadge state it needs to be sunk in dog poo
and maybe they should make it a dry state it would be much dif

I would assume that ALL officials have a “favorite” team that they rooted for at one time or another. I find it hard to believe that the locked-out officials chose to become officials in a league of a game they were not interested in. (If you didn’t like hockey would you go through the process of becoming an NHL official?) This guys is a Saints fan. So what? The question is not whether an official is a fan of a team; it is simply whether the official can ethically be impartial during the game. Some people can and others can’t.

Mike, your bias (unintended?) towards the old refs is showing again. “The locked-out officials surely have (or at least had) their preferences and biases, too. But once you choose to make officiating a career (or at least a second career), it’s time to be impartial.” Why wouldn’t this statement also apply to the replacement officials? Are the locked-out guys the only people capable of impartiality?

I don’t wee why,in an 8 billion dollar a year industry, that we do not have full time refs. The officials can have such an impact on a game that you want these guys to be above reproach. Yes, they are human and will make a mistake from time to time, but it is corrected in replay for the most part. I dont want to see calls made based on an official’s favorite team whose game he happens to be calling.

upperdecker19 says:Sep 16, 2012 11:14 AM

Geaux Stropolo!

geniusfan says:Sep 16, 2012 11:17 AM

“The replacement officials have never worked at the NFL level, and they surely have teams they “like” and teams they don’t.”

Oh and the regular officials don’t have favorites eh? I bet they do as well, maybe that’s why they blew as much calls as the replacement officials did.

I hope the regular officials rot away with their union, they need to accept the NFL’s terms or go away. The replacements are only going to get better, as fans that have watched football for a while we realize the regular officials messed up a ton. There just wasn’t that much of a difference, heck I liked the replacements better myself.

lesterclan says:Sep 16, 2012 11:22 AM

Congratulations, Mike. Once again you prove to be the perfect Spokesman for the Old Officials! Oh, and the speed with which the NFL threw together the New Officials probably had something to do with the locked-out officials and their union trying to call the NFL’s bluff…

I actually agree with the notion that his bias could benefit the Saints down the road. Say he’s refereeing a game where the outcome of the game could be beneficial to the Saints playoff birth, seeding, and so on. Even if he referee’s AFC game, there are tie breakers, such as record of common opponents to be thought about.

It seemed like most of the old refs must have been Packer fans with how many calls always went their way.

sfsaintsfan says:Sep 16, 2012 11:40 AM

The NFL investigation of the replacement refs to determine who their favorite teams were was done by the same guy at NFL Security who came up with the 50,000 pages of evidence. Any wonder why it took them this long to “find” the guys Facebook Page?

So, then is this same ref going to be held out of every other game in which the outcome may benefit the Saints? Will he be banned from officiating any other game with an NFC South team playing? If the Saints happen to be in the playoff hunt, and there are still replacements, will he be banned from officiating games of other potential playoff teams? If so, why is he officiating at all.

I thought that more than 50% of the locked out officials were Stealer fans

pftcensorssuck says:Sep 16, 2012 12:36 PM

bluebongzilla says:Sep 16, 2012 12:20 PM

On top of that, Paul Tagliabue is a Redskins fan and had season tickets before he became Commish. Roger Goodell is a Giants fan. How do I know? Because he came right out and said so.
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It’s not like he worked for the Jets or anything, right?

dzor22 says:Sep 16, 2012 1:00 PM

FINALLY!! I thought most of the referees the last few years WERE Saints fans.

I don’t wee why,in an 8 billion dollar a year industry, that we do not have full time refs. …
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The NFL will have full-time refs. After this year when the NFL tells the greedy part-timers to stay home permanently, they’ll cherry pick the best of the new referees. By then the NCAA Division I referees will know the NFL means business and the best of them will be available for full-time, permanent positions. By next year the NFL will have the youngest, most dedicated and best officials they’ve ever had. And they’ll be full-time, able to work on they’re craft year-round with encyclopedic knowledge of the rules. I’m looking forward to it.

prospero63 says:Sep 16, 2012 2:21 PM

Good thing there is no union to keep the NFL from being able to do the right thing.